Hiring with a handicap

From “Enforcement Guidance on Preemployment Disability-Related Inquiries,” a set of guidelines issued in May by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The guidelines show employers how to conduct job interviews in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Under the law, an employer may not ask about the existence, nature, or severity of a disability until after the employer determines that the applicant is qualified for the job and makes a conditional job offer. This is to ensure that an applicant's possible hidden disability is not considered by the employer. Employers may ask, however, about an applicant's ability to perform specific job-related functions.

Examples:

R [interviewer] may ask an applicant question such as, “Do you regularly eat three meals per day?” or “How much do you weigh?” Such inquiries are not likely to elicit information about a disability because there are a number of reasons why an individual may or may not regularly eat meals or may have a high or low weight. R may not ask questions such as, “Do you need to eat a number of small snacks at regular intervals throughout the day in order to maintain your energy level?” Such inquiries are likely to elicit information about a disability (e.g., diabetes).

R is hiring a word processor and asks an applicant how he broke his arm. This is not prohibited. However, R may not go on to ask how extensive the break is, when the arm is expected to heal, or whether the applicant will have full use of the arm in the future.

R may ask an applicant, “How many Mondays or Fridays were you absent last year on leave other than approved vacation leave?” R may not ask, “How many days were you sick last year?” or “How many separate episodes of sickness did you have last year?”

R may ask an applicant with one leg who applies for a job as a telephone lineperson to describe or demonstrate how she would perform her duties, because R may reasonably believe that having one leg interferes with the ability to climb telephone poles.

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SEE ALSO: Employment interviewing; Handicapped

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